


Memory of You (Marks Everything)

by ralsbecket



Series: PoTS Stockings [9]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Canon Divergence - Avengers (2012), Developing Relationship, Getting Together, Hopeful Ending, Identity Reveal, M/M, Song: Tattoo (Jordin Sparks), Writing on Skin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-13 19:40:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29283924
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ralsbecket/pseuds/ralsbecket
Summary: Tony Stark was born with coordinates scrawled onto the back of his hand, to some place in the Swiss Alps. It was near the end of 2011, however, when he first realized that they had disappeared one day. Poof. Nada. Zip. Erased from his skin as if they never existed.
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Series: PoTS Stockings [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2160600
Comments: 10
Kudos: 57
Collections: POTS (18+) Stony Stocking 2020





	Memory of You (Marks Everything)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Corsets_and_Cardigans](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Corsets_and_Cardigans/gifts).
  * In response to a prompt by [Corsets_and_Cardigans](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Corsets_and_Cardigans/pseuds/Corsets_and_Cardigans) in the [stony_stocking_2020](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/stony_stocking_2020) collection. 



> “No matter what you say about love  
> I keep coming back for more  
> Keep my hand in the fire  
> Sooner or later, I'll get what I'm asking for”  
> \- Jordin Sparks, _Tattoo_
> 
> A/N: For the wonderful Heather! Inspired by the Soulmate AU prompt with writing on the skin. This fic definitely grew legs and ran away lol. Hope you enjoy!!

Tony Stark was born with coordinates scrawled onto the back of his hand, to some place in the Swiss Alps. He wasn’t the only person to have words from their soulmate on their skin the moment they came into the world, but he _was_ the only one in recent history for which the writing never went away, whose skin never gained more than that one thing.

Howard was a good enough father to him growing up, but Tony noticed that his mood always soured whenever he caught sight of the chicken scratch of numbers on his hand. He’d asked to go to Switzerland one summer when he was younger – because maybe it was where his soulmate lived for some reason, he didn’t know – but his father was adamant about avoiding the subject like the plague. (It wasn’t until he became a consultant for SHIELD that Tony found out that the coordinates had been a location of a HYDRA base, up in the mountains. Tony regretted never asking his dad more about it before he and his mother died.)

As soon as he finally understood the mechanics of it, Tony turned to writing little notes on his hands and arms in hopes of communicating with his soulmate, but nothing else ever appeared. Those dumb coordinates became a reminder of what he couldn’t really have. (The kids in school used to bully him for no reason after hearing of his little predicament, and he’d learned the hard way to avoid showing his hand – literally – and get over that constant disappointment.)

Tony had lived with the coordinates of the Swiss Alps on his hand for over forty years. It was near the end of 2011, however, when he first realized that they had disappeared one day. Poof. Nada. Zip. Erased from his skin as if they never existed.

Suffice to say, Tony kind of panicked. He was confused and wary, not to mention excited enough to have peed his pants a little, but he couldn’t help from grabbing the nearest marker and writing _Hello?_ on his left forearm.

The next day, there was still nothing. But because he was convinced his soulmate was some random person living in Europe, he wrote _Wer bist du?_ in German. Tony thought asking _who_ his soulmate was might have been a good first step. He noticed _????_ in blue appear directly under the words some hours later, and he had never remembered being so overjoyed in his life.

Over the next few months, Tony found himself genuinely happy. The words showing up on his skin was a testament to him being normal, like everyone else with their soulmate. He had questions, sure, about why his person waited forty-one years before providing any signs of life, but when he started to wake up with _Good morning :)_ and _Thinking of you_ on his bare skin almost every day, he couldn’t really complain.

Tony had a tendency to write equations and calculations on his arms when he was hyper-focused during a workshop binge, which obviously opened up the conversation about the _why_ and _what_ he did for a living. He was in the middle of yet another boring board of directors meeting when his soulmate’s familiar scrawl appeared in the palm of his hand: _I never asked your name._

_You first_ , he wrote as discreetly as possible, hoping no one at the conference table realized how distracted he’d become.

_I’m Steve_

_Anthony_

Tony watched in real-time as his soulmate – Steve, _Steve_ , holy hell he finally had a _name_ – began sketching something along the inside of his wrist. An oval – no, a face – and eyes and a mouth –

Pepper Potts leaned into Tony’s space, whispering, “You have a stupid grin on your face, and it better not be because Gorani Insurance has second-thoughts about partnering with us abroad.”

He immediately lowered the sleeve of the jacket over the markings on his skin. “No, nope, wouldn’t dare, boss. I’m paying attention.”

Pepper squinted at him for a long moment before leaning back into her chair and returning her attention to the rest of the meeting.

When Agent Coulson had stopped by the tower with an assignment for him, Tony thought it was going to be another regular consulting gig. Meet the welcome wagon, apprehend the new big bad of the week, and then make it home before dinner. Simple.

Except Captain America didn’t make anything simple for him. In fact, Tony wanted so badly to punch the guy in his perfect teeth for being such an uptight _asshole_ and riling him up like it was his goddamn job.

Tony kept company with Bruce Banner in the lab on the fourth level of the Helicarrier, working in tandem to observe the scepter in their possession when he wasn’t preoccupied with complaining to his soulmate about recent events.

_PSA: Never meet your heroes_

_?_

_Long story_

_Tell me_

_Don’t have the arm space_

_Do it anyway. Always wanted an arm sleeve_

A chuckle escaped Tony’s mouth, a grin tugging on his lips. He readjusted the pen in his hand, leaving a cheesy heart in response. 

Tony couldn’t focus on a single word coming out of Fury’s mouth when he talked at him and Steve Rogers. He knew he should’ve been paying attention – it was important, they’d lost people, they’d lost _Coulson_ – but Steve was…

After Fury had tossed Coulson’s bloody trading cards onto the table, Steve reached out for them. His sleeve had slid up enough to show his wrist and –

Tony’s eyes just about popped out of their sockets when he recognized the handwriting lettering Steve’s pale skin, the same distinct styles that mirrored Tony’s arm exactly. He could clearly hear his heart beating loud in his ears, and his higher brain functions started working properly again only after Fury walked away.

“Hey, uh, Steve,” Tony began slowly, “I think we need to talk.”

“There’s nothing else to talk about right now, Tony, we just –”

“It’s either we talk right now, or I give you the arm sleeve you said you wanted.”

Steve’s head whipped up so fast that _Tony_ got whiplash from it. His blue eyes were wide, his lips opened slightly in a silent question. Multiple emotions flashed across his face: surprise, confusion, understanding, hope. His gaze flickered between his forearm and Tony’s, almost in disbelief.

After a moment, Steve cleared his throat. Sheepishly, he asked, “Do you… Can we start over?”

Tony pushed off his seat and made his way to stand in front of Steve. They looked at each other for a moment, brown eyes boring into blue ones, before a warm smile appeared on Tony’s face.

“Hi. I’m Tony. I’m a Gemini with a coffee addiction, and a soulmate who has very poor timing.” He reached a hand towards Steve, who took it without hesitation, squeezing firmly.

Steve finally cracked a smile, following his lead. “Hi, Tony. I’m Steve. And I’m sorry I kept you waiting for so long.”

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: I may or may not continue adding to this in the future. My brain has _so many ideas_
> 
> [Check out my linktree for tumblr, discord, and other socials!](https://linktr.ee/ralsbecket)


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